Will
Jesus Send Sean Hannity
to Hell?

In Matthew 25:31-46,
the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Jesus proclaims that how
you treat the hungry, the thirsty, the sick and other "least
of these," is how you treat Jesus himself:

"Lord, when did we
see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in
prison, and did not minister to thee?' 45. Then he will answer them,
'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these,
you did it not to me.

If you have failed
to help the "least of these," Jesus promises, he will
send you to "eternal punishment".

Can Hannity be considered
a true Christian if the focus of his life is thwarting others and
the society itself from implementing such a fundamental teaching
of Christianity as Matthew 25:31-46?

It's fine to oppose
government programs to help the Matthew 25 "least of these,"
as Hannity usually does. But to avoid violating the Matthew
25 injunction, Hannity must then propose Equivalent Alternative
Solutions. Equivalent Alternative Solutions are ones
which:

help at least
the same number of those people who legitimately need help

provide at least
the same amount of effective assistance to those people

get the help to
them at least as quickly

are at least as
certain to accomplish these goals

Equivalent Alternative
Solutions can certainly be completely non-governmental, as long
as they meet the four criteria directly above.

But Hannity consistently
both opposes the plans of others to help the "least
of these," and fails to offer Equivalent Alternative
Solutions.

Hannity should be
asked: "What about Matthew 25? If you oppose my plan
to help some of the "least of these,"what do
you propose instead? How does what you're espousing here
fulfill what Jesus commanded in Matthew 25? In fact, isn't
what you're doing exactly what Jesus condemned in Matthew
25?"

Hannity might reply:

Matthew 25 applies
only to individual acts of charity.

The response is,
Matthew 25 neither says nor implies any such thing. If
anything, the contrary: Jesus gathers the "nations," who
speak to him collectively as "we." Beyond that,
should a passage such as Matthew 25 be interpreted narrowly so as to
avoid responsibility? Would anyone seriously maintain that
Jesus would say it’s okay for society as a whole to let people
suffer and die, as long as some members give some
money to charity?

Yes, you are individually
held to account under Matthew 25 for your individual one-on-one
acts of charity or lack thereof, but you are also individually
held to account under Matthew 25 for how the actions you take influence
your society in its treatment of the "least of these."

As Pope John Paul II has written in this context:

It is a question
not only of alleviating the most serious and urgent needs through
individual actions here and there, but of uncovering the roots of
evil and proposing initiatives to make social, political and economic
structures more just and fraternal. Ecclesia in America

The response: Hannity's
"plans" are inadequate to fulfill the Matthew 25 mandate.
Hannity consistently advocates courses of action which by design
do not help all those legitimately in need, or will help them inadequately,
or will help them for too short a time, or are much less certain
to take effect.

Similarly inadequate
for Matthew 25 are vague hopes that "the free market"
or "competition" will solve the problem. Vague
hopes are not enough: plans to help the poor must be concrete.

As the Pope makes
clear:

Christ's words
"as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you
did it to me" (Mt 25 :40) were not intended to remain a pious
wish…Centesimus Annus

The motivating
concern for the poor--who are, in the very meaningful term,
"the Lord's poor"…--must be translated at all levels
into concrete actions, until it decisively attains a series of
necessary reforms. Solicitudo
Rei Socialis

Jesus didn't say
to have a government program to feed the hungry.

True enough.
Jesus didn't specify how to help the "least of these,"
he just insisted it be done. So again, the reply to Hannity
is, if you oppose a government program, what is your Equivalent
Alternative Solution that will help the same number of people, the
same amount, as soon and as certainly?

Hannity must start
treating the "least of these" as he would treat Jesus
himself. Then, and only then, can Hannity and other conservatives who
claim to be Christian be considered Christian in more than just
name.

Until that time,
Hannity is on an ever-accelerating spiritual express train headed in a radical
downward direction.

Sean Hannity Blog

The pontiff said Sunday's Gospel passage
about Lazarus, an impoverished beggar who ate the scraps from a rich man's
table, was 'ever more appropriate in reference to the problem of the imbalance
between the riches and poverty of the world today.'

...John Paul called
the U.N. meeting important and said it was aimed at "a more united and
efficient action against hunger and poverty." He noted the Vatican's No.
2 official, Cardinal Angelo Sodano (search), who is the city-state's secretary
of state, participated in the debate and pledged the Holy See's support for
the initiative.

The United States didn't join in the pledge to fight
hunger and poverty. The Bush administration objected to proposals for
international taxes as undemocratic and impossible to implement.

By invoking the Lazarus passage, where the
rich man who ignored the beggar Lazarus winds up in hell, the Pope is implicitly
agreeing with premise of my essay, which is that
right-wing pseudo-Christians like Sean Hannity will wind up in hell. The Pope is applying that
analysis to the rich nations collectively. And who is the richest nation of all,
that gives the least relative to its wealth? Us!! The U.S. refusal to support
the initiative reveals that we are in reality one of the most
un-Christian nations on earth. And who is the paramount cheerleader for
never helping the hungry, the naked, the sick? Hannity! Good for the Pope! If right-wing
Christians would ever read what the Pope has written
about this issue, their hair would stand on end. I hope the Pope will get around
to condemning right-wing
pseudo-Christians like Hannity by name.

Friday,
September 24, 2004

Sean Hannity asked last night as the
teaser for a segment, with all the earnest seriousness he's capable of
mustering, "Will liberals ban the Bible if they take over
Washington in November?" Actually, right-wing Christians like
Hannity have already in effect banned the Bible by
misinterpreting it and ignoring the parts they don't like -- such as
Jesus saying in Matthew 25:31-46 that Hannity and all the rest of the
pseudo-Christians like him are going
to hell!

Wednesday,
August 25, 2004

It needs to be asked once again, is
Hannity stupid, or a deliberate liar. He keeps repeating his spiel that
since Kerry "was told" about atrocities in Vietnam, shouldn't
he have reported them, and if he didn't report them, isn't he complicit
in the atrocities, and unfit to be commander-in-chief. But surely
Hannity knows, and guests have said this to his face, that Kerry did not
say that while he was in Vietnam, soldiers came and told him about
atrocities they had committed. The misleadingly excerpted clip that
Hannity plays, where Kerry gives a litany of atrocities, was from a
Congressional hearing where Kerry was reporting what veterans had
testified to publicly at a hearing in Detroit. So
obviously there was nothing for Kerry to report to anyone, since the
veterans were reporting these atrocities publicly and after Kerry had
already left the service. But Hannity, shameless as always, continues
with his "why didn't he report these atrocities" spiel.

Wednesday,
August 25, 2004

Sean Hannity was hoist upon
his own petard this evening. He was happily interviewing a Vietnam
veteran who had turned his back to John Kerry while Kerry was addressing
a veteran's group. Hannity started into his spiel about how Kerry needs
to apologize to all Vietnam vets for claiming that U.S. troops committed
atrocities in Vietnam. Hannity asked the vet if he had ever, while in
Vietnam, heard of any atrocities being committed. The vet was taken
aback, hemmed and hawed, and finally said yes. Hannity clearly didn't
like that answer, as he doesn't like any answer that reflects the truth
of a situation that Hannity is trying to lie about.

The Bible Talks
About Hannity!

15. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing
but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16. You will know them by their
fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17. So,
every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit.
18. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good
fruit. 19. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire. 20. Thus you will know them by their fruits. 21.
"Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. 22. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many
mighty works in your name?' 23. And then will I declare to them, 'I
never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'

31. "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels
with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32. Before him will
be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33. and he will place
the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. 34. Then the
King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
35. for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36. I was naked and you
clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came
to me.' 37. Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see
thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? 38. And when
did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee?
39. And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' 40. And
the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of
the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' 41. Then he will say
to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42. for I was hungry and you
gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43. I was a
stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me,
sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44. Then they also will
answer, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' 45. Then he
will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the
least of these, you did it not to me.' 46. And they will go away into
eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

If Jesus Christ came back
today and began walking the earth preaching as he did before, Sean Hannity
would call him a bleeding heart liberal who doesn't live in the
"real" world, and would then add for good measure that Jesus Christ
is a homeless bum who deserves his position because he didn't bother to get a
proper education. Read article

Another excerpt:

Wait! I sense a Heavenly presence in the room… a
"corrected" version of the Lazarus passage in Luke is coming to me.
Let me quickly write down these words before they vanish again into the ether:

Luke
16:19-31

19. "There was a rich man named
Hannity, who was clothed in pinstripe gray and fine wool and who feasted
sumptuously every day. 20. And at the door to his office building, lay a poor
homeless man named Lazarus, full of sores, 21. who desired to be fed with what
fell from Hannity's table. But Hannity said the man had made certain choices in
life, and must abide by the results, and that above all, a government program
should never be used to help a man such as Lazarus. 22. The poor man died and
was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man Hannity also died
and was buried; 23. and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and
saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. 24. And Hannity called out,
'Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his
finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.' 25. But
Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good
things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here,
and you are in anguish. 26. And besides all this, between us and you a great
chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may
not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' 27. And Hannity said, 'Then
I beg you, father, to send him to my Fox News office building, 28. for I have
political colleagues there, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into
this place of torment.' 29. But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the
prophets; let them hear them.' 30. And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if
some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31. He said to him, 'If
they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some
one should rise from the dead.'"

Hannity constantly expresses views about
how society and our economy should be organized which not only directly
contradict the teachings of the Catholic Church on these issues, but
ridicule these teachings. Following are links to the specific teachings he
trashes. The full document can be read here.